With rooms to spare, retirement homes are renting out to students | Only Sports And Health

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With Canada’s national rental vacancy rate at its lowest point since 1988, renters and real estate owners are getting creative to find solutions.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s February report, the national vacancy rate is 1.5 per cent. Meanwhile, Canada’s largest operator of retirement homes, Chartwell, forecasted its February 2024 vacancy rate to be about 15 per cent.

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With rooms available, some students and other younger people are moving into retirement homes, CBC reports.

The Calgary-based Canadian Alliance for Intergenerational Living (CAIL) has launched a pilot program where post-secondary students can live in retirement homes at a reduced rent, while spending 30 hours a month socializing with senior residents.

The inaugural project began in September and connected two post-secondary students with seniors in Calgary. The students received a subsidized rental rate in exchange for spending time with the residents.

Included in the living arrangement are access to subsidized home cooked meal plans, discounted internet and utilities, access to affordable on-site services including pharmacy, hair salon, massage therapy, nail salon and more, and a residence full of “adopted” grandparents, according to CAIL.

The program is modelled after similar initiatives in the Netherlands and U.S., Bonita Paquette, founder of CAIL, told CBC.

“I think it’s good for both the students and the seniors. They both have different perspectives in life,” she said.

Intergenerational living was also the solution for Anton Hood, 24, and his teammates from the New Zealand curling team.

The team moved to Calgary in September to further their development but were shocked by rent prices in the city. Struggling to find accommodations, Kim Forge, a World Curling Federation Board member, posted to Facebook hoping to find a solution.

That post led the team to Cassandra Murray, a retirement living consultant for Chartwell Colonel Belcher Retirement Residence, who offered two rooms at the facility just minutes from the Calgary Curling Club, reports World Curling.

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The foursome integrated with the building’s 175 residents with ease.

“It’s a great location and then the residents are just getting some young vibrant people around and just something to talk about,” Murray said.

Hood told World Curing the residence is “like a hotel,” and the team also found jobs in the city to support their curling pursuits.

“What we want to get out of this too, is retirement homes aren’t just for seniors to age and to be lonely,” said Murray. “There’s opportunity for some really cool things to happen.”

Similar intergenerational programs have previously found success in Canada, including the Canada HomeShare program, which launched out of Toronto in 2018. The program matches seniors with extra space with students who are in need of housing. The students agree to light housework in exchange for an affordable bedroom rental.

The homeowners list their rooms on the platform, usually far below market rates, and the home seekers then connect with them and undergo a screening process to see if it’s the right fit. If successful, a contract is written, reviewed and signed by both parties.

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The social work-facilitated model is led by Dr. Raza Mirza, a University of Toronto professor and a director with the not-for-profit HelpAge Canada.

The HomeShare model was piloted in 10 Canadian cities in 2022. Canada HomeShare does not charge either the homeowner or the student renter any fees. The matches are facilitated by social workers and all participants complete a vulnerable sector screening, as well as home inspections.

Those aged 55 and above are eligible for the program, though older couples and families living with and caring for an older adult are also able to apply.

Private businesses are also jumping in on the home-sharing trend. Companies like Sparrow Living Inc. and SpacesShared, which help connect students in Ontario and B.C. with homeowners with extra space, say they can help combat housing affordability and loneliness across the country.

According to Toronto-based Sparrow, there are over 12 million empty bedrooms across Canada. The company allows homeowners to earn extra income by offering their unused bedrooms for rent for at least two months, while students gain access to affordable living spaces often priced below the typical market rate.

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Sparrow was awarded $500,000 in funding from the federal government as part of the National Housing Strategy Innovation programs in 2022.

“In addition to low rent housing opportunities, social benefits associated with home sharing include reduced social isolation and providing seniors with more choices as they age comfortably,” Ahmed Hussen, the former minister of housing and diversity and inclusion, said when that funding was announced.

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